What Trump’s Executive Orders On Crime Mean For Black Folks

Donald Trump, along with his henchman, Attorney General, Jeff Sessions promised to make his administration a ‘law and order’ administration. In direct response to the non-violent protests of the Black Lives Matter movement, which was itself organized to respond to police violence against Black civilians, Trump vowed to create a ‘police-friendly’ administration.

The three executive orders he issued last month make good on this promise. Although they are couched in language that appears to support a ‘safer’ nation (though it would seem that an emphasis on preventing mass shootings might be a bigger priority) a further reading of the orders suggests a plan to target communities of color with more incarceration and a reversal of police department reform that came after Dept. Of Justice investigations in Cleveland, Baltimore, Ferguson, MI and other cities.

This month, President Donald Trump signed three executive orders that will intensify the criminalization of communities of color, under the false premise of the need to increase “law and order.” Leveraging public perception that crime is on the rise and the backlash against protesters, immigrants and grassroots efforts such as the Black Lives Matter movement, these executive orders ramp up policing efforts and federalize protections for police. Executive actions like these only worsen the continued criminalization of communities of color.